The conscience of a nation

Dave said not only do we have the opportunity but it’s also imperative to shine our light and to be salt, a word he likes to expand upon.

“Salt is not just tasty, it’s a preservative. It actually preserves the value and the health of a society. It also attracts water and water in the Bible speaks of multitudes, of large populations, but salt also brings healing and if you’ve ever been in the ocean, the salty sea with an open wound, it can sting a little bit as it brings that healing to you.”

Some believe the church’s role is to act as the conscience of a nation. Freedom of conscience belief and religion. But if church leaders are not being the conscience and not prepared to stand for the truth, to speak up even if they get criticised, then somehow we are destined to defeat.

But Dave Pellow said it’s just not our self-preservation we’re speaking up for, it’s our nation.

Ruddock Review – An exercise in futility?

Dave quoted Leviticus where it says to love your neighbour, and the adjacent Scripture, to confront your neighbour if they’re sinning.

Philip Ruddock

Meantime Christians await the findings of the Ruddock Review. Some say it’s farcical and a sham.

“As much as it’s an exercise in futility we cannot neglect to answer the question when asked. That’s our opportunity as the church, especially when we’re asked and even when we’re not.”

Dave highlighted previous occasions when Christians have voiced their concerns to the nation’s lawmakers – concerns that were glossed over. Today those risks are still at large and need to be regarded and guarded against.

“(The politicians) completely passed over every opportunity to do something about it at the same time they passed this ‘un-definition of marriage’ legislation.”

“It smacks of dis-ingenuity to now say, ‘Well let’s now have a look at how we can get the horse back in the barn’ when they had a chance to shut the gate before the horse bolted.”

‘The best solution – be very very vocal’

“But we now need to speak up,” Dave stressed but admitted that just getting a change to happen involves a huge bureaucratic process.

That process begins with making a submission to the Ruddock Review. Dave Pellowe gave his opinion on Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull’s values that led to the marriage legislation change.

“Malcom Turnbull’s value of the freedom of religion over redefining marriage wasn’t true in that he valued passing the legislation of homosexual marriage more than he wanted to see freedom of religion.”

Dave said the reason the prime minister didn’t do it was because it was in the too hard basket.

The best solution we have now according to Dave Pellow is to be very very vocal.

“To refuse to be silent. To refuse to leave a world to our children that is decidedly worse and more authoritarian than the one we inherited from the generation before us.”

‘Look for the best candidates’

When it comes to any form of political partisanship Dave said the only people we should align with are our neighbours. To that end Dave repeated the Biblical commandments, to love God and love our neighbours.

“It doesn’t say love the government, it says pray for the government. Pray for them to have wisdom and righteousness and submit to them.”

“But it doesn’t say be loyal to the Liberal Party in the Bible or the Labor Party. So we should be undecided at every election and look for the best candidates who will promise to represent us. And we are to be representatives of Jesus.”

“Jesus told us the world would hate us and we shouldn’t expect an easy path. We’ve been blessed to inherit a country that was built on Christian foundations where our legal traditions were based on Christian traditions.”

Dave shed further light on this to say at the time of federation 90 percent of people valued Christian sentiments and demanded that the constitution acknowledge our humble reliance on God. But that’s not the country we live in anymore.”

“The time is coming when we’re either going to have to fight for that freedom or live in a nation without it.”

The thought that we’re going to need courage isn’t novel around the world and we should get used to it, get a spine and just see how long we can protect freedom and the Gospel in Australia.”

If you would like to listen to the full audio interview click play below

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